US President Donald Trump on Sunday said the United States was very close to a final deal with Iran even as he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iranian missile strikes on Israel.
Trump’s remark comes after Iran launched missile strikes at Israel, prompting a retaliation warning from Tel Aviv.
“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate,” Trump said, according to Axios journalist Barak Ravid.
“Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump said.
The US President held a phone call with Israeli leader shortly after the interview. It was not immediately clear what was discussed during the phone call.
The Iranian missile barrage on Sunday was the first attack against Israel since an April ceasefire came into effect. Tehran said the strikes was in retaliation to fresh Israel strikes on Beirut and warned of more such attacks if Israel chooses to retaliate.
‘Very close to final deal’
Trump said the US was close to a final deal and added that he doesn’t want “to blow up because of what is happening now”.
“We are very close to a final deal with Iran. It is going to be a good deal. I don’t want it to blow up because of what is happening now,” Trump said.
The Israeli retaliation against Iran, the President said, would prolong the fighting for many more years.
“The Iranian strikes didn’t hurt anybody. Hopefully Israel is not going to retaliate. If Bibi strikes them back it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years,” he said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the latest attack was a “warning” after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier in the day. The IRGC threatened wider strikes in the event of repeated aggression.
In a separate interview to Fox News, Trump urged Iran to return to talks and warned that the strikes could harm negotiations.
“We’re very close. I would say an agreement would be signed on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. And now this takes place,” Trump said.
He called on Iran to “get back to the table and make a deal.”
